What do you expect from a 17 year old running a bucket shop from Singapore.

I wouldn't be surprised to find that CITI had seized or cancelled his account or something similar as they've been very publicly anti bitcoin both with Th and at that show late last fall or was it early winter where Donald Norman debated them.

I do not use his service, though the show is amusing, but there is no real indication I have seen that he is a bad actor or is ripping anyone off.

You play in the bucket shop and they get low on funds? Cross your fingers and hope they do not fold up altogether.

This is not some pseudoeconomic post-modern Libertarian cult, it's an un-led, crowd-sourced mega startup organized around mutual self-interest where problems, whether of the theoretical or purely practical variety, are treated as temporary and, ultimately, solvable.Censorship of e-gold was easy. Censorship of Bitcoin will be… entertaining.

I believe there is a place in a free market for bitcoinica's services, I see no indication as yet that Z is operating counter to his client's interests...though that danger is always present

the simple fact that some orders are settled internally without any formal transactions in the underlying makes it a bucket shop under US law, which is fine with me, people are assumed to be adults and nation states and their antiquated legal structures are obsolete

it is a brave new world, all the warning labels and safety restraints have been removed, have fun, play at your own risk

This is not some pseudoeconomic post-modern Libertarian cult, it's an un-led, crowd-sourced mega startup organized around mutual self-interest where problems, whether of the theoretical or purely practical variety, are treated as temporary and, ultimately, solvable.Censorship of e-gold was easy. Censorship of Bitcoin will be… entertaining.

Fair enough. But what of the OP's question, then? Is there any particular situation currently in play that's preventing payouts? Surely settled client USD aren't counted as part of the reserve...

If there is something that will make Bitcoin succeed, it is growth of utility - greater quantity and variety of goods and services offered for BTC. If there is something that will make Bitcoin fail, it is the prevalence of users convinced that BTC is a magic box that will turn them into millionaires, and of the con-artists who have followed them here to devour them.

I do not use his service, though the show is amusing, but there is no real indication I have seen that he is a bad actor or is ripping anyone off.

You play in the bucket shop and they get low on funds? Cross your fingers and hope they do not fold up altogether.

I remember him claiming many times, in this forum, that bitcoinica is not a bucket shop, but yeah - why should I believe that?

If Bitcoinica is a bucket shop then you'll not see the asterisk and instead we let you buy whatever you want and then dump coins in the market to force liquidate you and pocket all your money.

This is not what it happened. So we are not a bucket shop.

There's no better way to prove it either. We have already disclosed the daily hedging volume.

That's nice (you could also reveal al transactions like MtGox - but this is just a side note). The more important question is - what is the problem with withdrawals!? Why you don't approve them? Is that related to MtGox limits? Or you have mixed client funds with company reserves?

(you could also reveal al transactions like MtGox - but this is just a side note)

My impression was that this would greatly increase the danger of squeezes, since anyone could calculate how much money a squeeze would cost them.

If there is something that will make Bitcoin succeed, it is growth of utility - greater quantity and variety of goods and services offered for BTC. If there is something that will make Bitcoin fail, it is the prevalence of users convinced that BTC is a magic box that will turn them into millionaires, and of the con-artists who have followed them here to devour them.

(you could also reveal al transactions like MtGox - but this is just a side note)

My impression was that this would greatly increase the danger of squeezes, since anyone could calculate how much money a squeeze would cost them.

bingo

This is not some pseudoeconomic post-modern Libertarian cult, it's an un-led, crowd-sourced mega startup organized around mutual self-interest where problems, whether of the theoretical or purely practical variety, are treated as temporary and, ultimately, solvable.Censorship of e-gold was easy. Censorship of Bitcoin will be… entertaining.